Precaution
What it means
A step taken beforehand to reduce the chance or impact of harm.
Reach for it when naming a preventive action chosen in response to a credible risk
As a precaution, the guide checked every headlamp before sunset.
Words to choose between 7
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| everyday |
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| professional | |
| formal | |
| literary |
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playful
belt and braces
Suits deliberately redundant protection in informal British usage
Careful This idiom can suggest overcaution and will be unfamiliar to some readers.
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everyday
safety step
Fits when instructions need plain, immediately understandable language
Careful Safety step narrows the purpose to physical safety and sounds procedural.
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professional
contingency
Fits if the measure is a fallback prepared for a possible event
Careful A contingency responds after a problem occurs, whereas a precaution may prevent it.
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professional
preventive measure
Suits a planned action intended to stop a problem arising
Careful Preventive measure is precise but heavier than precaution in ordinary speech.
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professional
Fits when an enduring measure protects people or systems
Careful A safeguard may remain in place permanently rather than address one occasion.
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formal
Fits when good anticipation itself deserves praise
Careful Foresight is a quality of judgment, not the action produced by it.
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literary
insurance
Suits an extra provision that limits loss if events go wrong
Careful Readers may mistake this figurative use of insurance for a financial policy.
Opposites 3
- recklessness
- neglect
- improvidence
Common phrases 3
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sensible precaution
Bringing a paper map was a sensible precaution beyond carrying a phone.
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extra precaution
The laboratory added an extra precaution during the power interruption.
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take a precaution
Take a precaution now by labeling the backup valve clearly.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Neskaya, Southern California accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated